Rachel first decided to learn sign language in honor of the death of her father. He became deaf after undergoing chemotherapy for a cancer treatment when she was only 12. She later engaged actively in helping the hearing loss community by qualifying as a sign language interpreter, becoming an ambassador for National Deaf Children’s Society, launching her own social networking website for deaf people called “Viewtalk” and most recently by making this beautiful film that has really raised awareness of the challenges of the hearing impaired.

This isn’t the first time sign language has been used at the Oscars. Marlee Matlin, a hard of hearing actress, also signed at the start of her acceptance speech. Rachel and Marlee both starred in the TV series “Switched at Birth”, a show which features sign language heavily. If you haven’t seen it yet, we’d recommend you give it a watch! It’s one of my personal favourites.